Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB24 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		By: Campbell, et al. S.B. No. 24
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	2	+	(In the Senate - Filed March 5, 2025; March 6, 2025, read
	3	+	first time and referred to Committee on Education K-16;
	4	+	March 17, 2025, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
	5	+	Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 10, Nays 0; March 17, 2025,
	6	+	sent to printer.)
	7	+	Click here to see the committee vote
	8	+	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 24 By: Bettencourt
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6	11		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	12		AN ACT
8	13		relating to the inclusion of an understanding of communist regimes
9	14		and ideologies in the essential knowledge and skills for the social
10	15		studies curriculum for certain public school students.
11	16		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	17		SECTION 1. Section 28.002, Education Code, is amended by
13	18		adding Subsections (h-11) and (h-12) to read as follows:
14	19		(h-11) In adopting the essential knowledge and skills for
15	20		the social studies curriculum for each grade level from grade 4
16	21		through grade 12, the State Board of Education shall, as
17	22		appropriate, adopt essential knowledge and skills that develop each
18	23		student's understanding of communist regimes and ideologies and
19	24		include age appropriate and developmentally appropriate
20	25		instruction with information on:
21	26		(1) the history of and tactics used by communist
22	27		movements in the United States;
23	28		(2) historical events and atrocities attributable to
24	29		communist regimes, including:
25	30		(A) the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap
26	31		Forward;
27	32		(B) the Holodomor, otherwise known as the
28	33		Ukrainian Famine;
29	34		(C) the Soviet-era political purge known as the
30	35		Great Terror;
31	36		(D) the Cambodian genocide under Pol Pot and the
32	37		Khmer Rouge;
33	38		(E) the origins and policies of the Communist
34	39		Party of Cuba;
35	40		(F) communist guerrilla movements in Latin
36	41		America; and
37	42		(G) the oppression and suffering experienced by
38	43		people living under communist regimes, including mass murder,
39	44		violent land seizures, show trials, concentration camps, forced
40	45		labor, poverty, and general economic deterioration;
41	46		(3) a comparative analysis of:
42	47		(A) the ideologies of communism and
43	48		totalitarianism contrasted with the United States' founding
44	49		principles of freedom and democracy; and
45	50		(B) collectivist ideologies contrasted with the
46	51		United States' founding principles of individual rights,
47	52		merit-based advancement, and free enterprise;
48	53		(4) modern threats to the United States and its allies
49	54		posed by communist regimes and ideologies;
50	55		(5) common economic, industrial, and political events
51	56		that historically precede communist revolutions;
52	57		(6) the evolution of communist ideologies from
53	58		economic, class-based theories into broader cultural movements
54	59		that divide societies and maintain collective control over
55	60		individual rights;
56	61		(7) common historical and modern methods used to
57	62		spread communist ideologies, including:
58	63		(A) propaganda;
59	64		(B) public shaming tactics;
60	65		(C) censorship; and
61	66		(D) forced conformity; and
62	67		(8) first-person accounts, in the form of in-person,
63	68		video-recorded, or written testimony, from the victims of communist
64	69		regimes.
65	70		(h-12) In adopting the essential knowledge and skills
66	71		required under Subsection (h-11), the State Board of Education:
67	72		(1) shall adopt and publish standards for the required
68	73		instruction;
69	74		(2) shall seek input from:
70	75		(A) victims of communism willing to share their
71	76		first-person accounts; and
72	77		(B) nationally recognized organizations
73	78		dedicated to commemorating victims of communism; and
74	79		(3) may incorporate material from existing
75	80		educational programs that provide instruction on the topic of
76	81		communist regimes and ideologies, if the material meets the
77	82		standards adopted by the State Board of Education under Subdivision
78	83		(1).
79	84		SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2026-2027
80	85		school year.
81	86		SECTION 3. Not later than July 31, 2026, the State Board of
82	87		Education shall review and revise, as needed, the essential
83	88		knowledge and skills of the social studies curriculum as required
84	89		by Section 28.002(h-11), Education Code, as added by this Act.
85	90		SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
86	91		a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
87	92		provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
88	93		Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
89	94		Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
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